I find reading old books about cat health and cat care fascinating. For example, The cat; its points: and management in health and disease (1908), found via the Internet Archive. This book, besides the usual information about cat breeds, nutrition and cleaning, goes into great detail discussing building an outdoor cattery.
Housing, or the Cattery
UNDER ordinary circumstances the cat takes up its abode in the family circle, sleeping either in or out of doors at night though it must be confessed that it is an undesirable practice, and to some extent unkind to allow cats to roam about out of doors all night. Such leads to fostering the roving disposition, and, once acquired, a cat is seldom much use for the destruction of smaller vermin within the house. Moreover, it has a detrimental influence in other ways, such as the contraction of mange, distemper, and too frequent gestation.
When a number of pedigree cats are to be kept, the erection of a cattery, either in or out of doors, becomes essential, but it is much preferable to have it out of doors, being healthier for the cats and certainly less objectionable to members of the household.
Of course, one must be careful when cleaning the cattery.
One of the most powerful disinfectants, or rather sterilizers, is boiling water ; few, if any, germs can resist the prolonged application of this.
Wherever disease has been, wash down with very hot water, soft soap, with a little carbolic acid added to it. As soon as dry, brush over with carbolic acid and water, and finally lime-whiten.
This is, of course, only applicable to inanimate objects, and must on no account be used on the cat, as such animals are readily destroyed by this chemical.
There is also some strange information regarding a cat’s diet.
Feeding
It is customary to feed the house-cat in a very irregular manner, and, through negligence, often not at all : hence the reason why one sees so many half-starved cats about.
The negligence of the average domestic in the matter of feeding house pets is notorious, as these are either fed to excess or overlooked altogether.
The natural diet of the cat is flesh, and such should constitute at least three-fourths of its food ; milk, bread and fish making up the remaining fourth. Vegetables are wholly unsuitable, and liver is too much of a laxative, but very suitable as an occasional feed, especially during the summer. In London and other cities cooked horseflesh constitutes the principal food for cats, being both cheap and wholesome, either cut up or given whole preferably the former. If a cat is fed on this, say, for the midday meal, along with a little milk both morning and evening, it is all that it requires.
I had no idea that horse meat was once a common cat food!
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